My trainer talked to some people and said he could get me an off-track Standardbred... for free!Any tips you may have for re-training would be great! Does anyone know any problems l might have, and how to fix them? How do l teach him that it is okay to canter? Does anyone have a re-trained Standardbred? Please tell of your experiences. Thanks!

Id say start out walking untell the horse really is ok with walking & doesnt have a ''im gonna freak any second now'' walk & also is carrying its head low, then do the same thing with a trot. For the canter Im not to sure but Id try cantering in a round pen or just a smaller area but then try to do the same thing as the walk & trot. Im not to sure if these will work yet im getting ready to do the same thing but with a thoroughbred so im excited but Id try this for the most part also u might get a draw rein to teach it to carry its head low..but be care ful u dont abuse useing the draw rein. l use it on my arabian & it is working miracles on her


also try parelli

This website has soome good information on it: http://horseadoption.com/training-tips/

You can also contact them directly with any questions u have.

My best friend trained Standardbreds to race for ~20 years. She broke them to drive, conditioned them for the track, drove them in qualifiers at the track, helped re-condition them after layoffs, drove in matinee races, & then when their careers were over, she'd rehab them & find homes for them. l helped her with some of the horses, & here is the gist of what the info on them is:

First off, any physical problems that ur ''gaiter'' had that kept him/her off the track need to be tended to. Some Standardbreds never make it to the races because they just r not fast enough, & those do not usually have physical problems. But if ur horse raced, u need to find out what problems he may have. Standardbreds rarely have the kind of physical problems that retired Thoroughbreds have. The typical career-ending injury for a Standardbred is something like a bowed tendon or other soft-tissue injury. Most of these do not cause the horse any problems when they're set.

Because there r many more pacing Standardbreds than trotters, u will likely get a pacer. Please bear in mind that harness racers r not supposed to canter during a race; if they break gait & canter, the driver has to pull them back on gait & lose ground by the break. So it is possible, if ur Standardbred has been racing for years, it may be years since he has cantered. So u need to be patient. It is best not to rush ur horse into the canter-- he associates the urge to go forward faster with trotting or pacing faster, & believe me, some harnies can pace a heck of a lot faster than ur average saddle horse can canter!!!! You need to teach ur horse to relax & collect under saddle. When he does pick up the canter, he may try to go quite fast. You need to resist the urge to try to stop him-- if u relax & steady him, he will eventually settle down. But u must be patient & realize it takes time.

Also, some Standardbreds have a ''pacey'' kind of canter. It is possible that ur horse may never have the quality of canter that judges in disciplines like dressage & hunters r looking for. If this is really important to you, u may need to find a Standardbred that has been trained under saddle long enough for u to evaluate his canter. FWIW, some Standardbreds have succeeded on the jumper circuit; there was one named Bionic Woman years & years ago that l saw jumping fences over 6 feet in height. She had this crazy, weird canter up to the fences & then she'd pop over them. Really bizarre way of cantering, but boy could she jump!

Standardbreds as a group have very low-key, easygoing temperaments, nothing like Thoroughbreds. Every single Standardbred l have personally known was a love sponge-- just adored being fussed with & having people pet them, very gentle & sweet. The downside to them is that many of them r very plain-headed & just not the kind of horses people see & exclaim, ''Oh, is not he PRETTY!'' (That matters to some people.) They r also not generally quick learners. FWIW, my best friend says that actually can be a virtue: once they learn something, they r not going to try to figure out how to evade doing it.

Standardbreds also have the virtue of already knowing how to drive, so if u ever want to take up pleasure driving, u can do so.

l think they're great horses. Good luck to you!
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Gotta add this website for information on re-training Standardbreds: http://ustrotting.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=695&z=17

l have two Standardbreds - 1 retired & 1 never raced . they r both easy to handle & all l can say is if ur ''new'' horse is true to the basic characteristics ---- all u need is patience. Even my spooky one; will over come what she is afraid of if l talk to her & walk her away & back a few times .. so for cantering - do not push it at first & let them get used to YOU then u will get there.

When they r playing in the field - my guys usually trot :) but when they r in a real hurry to get to the hay or think l have a treat - l have seen them break out in a canter

standardbreds r not all lovey dovey horses, quite a number of them have endured the same abuse as t-breds & have just as much fire & anger, a race horse takes a couple of years being off track to work out the drugs & go back to being a horse, even though trainers say they dont drug they all do, standarbreds can make great riding horses though, my step-daughter has one, they r great for trail riding because they dont spook at anything, they r also very comfortable around traffic as they have had tractors & cars drive very near them, a number of them will never canter because they have been trained not too, & some r pacers, which is a lateral movement & can be more comfortable to ride than a trot at certain speeds, if there r a lot of white spots on the legs of ur horse this is an indicator that it has had trouble with ligaments, tendons, muscles, etc as this is a mark of treating them, a horse with no white spots on the legs is a sign of good strong legs, breaking it to ride, just take it easy & be patient, standardbreds where a harness that cinches up tight & a bridle just like other horses they just dont wear weight on their backs

l always try to get a bond with my horse to where he trusts you. he will let you try more. my horse is broke to a saddle, but he is not used to the place yet. so it makes him a bit spookie.